RaNae Merrill is teaching her Free Motion Mastery Workshop on Zoom in a two-day workshop, 3 hours each, with a week in between for practice.
Saturday, Feb 13 8:30 AM and Saturday, Feb 20 8:30 AM
Materials Fee: Book & Tool kit recommended but not required; may be purchased online before class (click here) or in person at the class.
Materials list FMM30 ONLINE update 2025.pdf
Want to learn to do free-motion quilting but don’t know where to start? Can you do a few simple patterns but you want to expand your creativity? Have you taken other classes and failed? Are you afraid you’ll ruin that beautiful top you spent weeks piecing?
This is the class for you!
RaNae's unique teaching system and specialized tools guide you step-by-step through simple exercises that will get you moving comfortably at the sewing machine and build your quilting skills as you quilt one block at a time. You'll make a quantum leap in your FMQ skills during the class and go home with a practice plan to continue building your skills. You'll leave class saying "I can DO this!"
In this class you will learn how to:
- Pre-train your hands anytime, anywhere, before you sit down at the sewing machine.
- Set up your machine for free-motion quilting
- Move your hands, your body and the quilt for relaxed, efficient quilting
- Quilt the fundamental shapes that are the basis for all quilting patterns
- Join pre-quilted blocks to make a quilt of any size
The class is taught on domestic sewing machines, but the principles and exercises work equally well on a sit down or frame-mounted long-arm. The book includes instructions for domestic machines, as well as both sit-down and frame-mounted long-arm machines.
Project: Free-motion quilted wall hanging or quilt
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Prerequisites: Basic sewing skills
Materials list FMM30 ONLINE update 2025.pdf
FMM30 Book and Tool Kit (Check materials list for full description):
-- A copy of Free-Motion Mastery in a Month book
-- An FMM30 Tool Kit (see materials list for details)
Fabric and Thread for 15" wall hanging (MUST be pre-cut):
Block #1: (Large center motif)
Front: 1 block 12” x 11” with a large, clearly-outline motif like the butterfly in top image on page 1. It should have about 50% empty background space - solid color, no pattern.)
Back: 1 block 12" x 11" Any fabric is fine
Blocks #2 & #3: (Borders)
Front: 2 blocks 12” x 11” in a solid light color
Back: 2 blocks 12" x 11" in a solid dark color
Joining Strips & Binding: Solid or tiny print, in a different coordinating color. (These are not used in class but are needed to finish the wall hanging at home.)
2 strips 1” x WOF (WOF=Width of Fabric, 42"-45")
2 strips 1-3/4” x WOF
2 strips 2.5" x WOF
Batting: 3 pieces 12” x 11” (Cotton or poly-cotton, not poofy polyester or wool. Fusible batting is best.)
Thread: 1 spool, in a medium value that contrasts with both the light and dark fabrics in Blocks 2 & 3. It is used for both top and bobbin. Please bring 2 bobbins pre-wound. High-quality cotton, new (don’t bring old thread), 40 or 50 weight
Sewing tools: Basic sewing supplies (including thread-trimming scissors and seam ripper). 12 safety pins (if not using fusible batting). Optional: Silicone "slider" sheet to cover sewing machine throat.
Sewing machine accessories and set-up: (Read and carefully follow instructions in materials list): Make sure the machine is working, cleaned and lubricated. Sew on it before you come to class to test it! Know how to drop the feed dogs. Know how to adjust the tension. Bring the instruction manual. Free-motion quilting foot or darning foot (make sure it is the correct foot for your machine and know how to attach it. Test it before class to make sure that it fits and that you can move the fabric under the foot when the presser foot is down), 2 empty bobbins, new needles in sizes 80/12 and 90/14 “Universal’ and “Quilting” types.
